Wolverines aim to end Buckeyes’ rivalry reign
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Even if Dwayne Haskins Jr. never plays another down for the Ohio State University football team, his name will live in Buckeyes lore.
He entered last year’s game at Michigan in relief, a redshirt freshman who was pressed into service when starting quarterback J.T. Barrett went down with a knee injury. Ohio State trailed 20-14 in the third quarter. Haskins directed a touchdown drive and went on to lead Ohio State to a 31-20 win in Ann Arbor and a sixth straight victory in the rivalry known simply as The Game.
“I was pretty calm going into that situation,” Haskins contended as he prepared to face fourth-ranked Michigan (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten Conference) for the first time as a starter today. “I don’t really recall everything that happened in that game, but just being able to go into that atmosphere and that environment meant well for me going into this season.”
Haskins certainly has displayed poise since then for the 10th-ranked Buckeyes (10-1, 7-1). This year he is rewriting the school record book for single-season passing, has helped Ohio State rank second nationally in total yards and has thrown 36 touchdown passes, which is tied for first in the country.
But he didn’t have the starting job in hand until Joe Burrow dropped out of the quarterback derby in the summer and transferred to LSU, where he has enjoyed success with the Southeastern Conference program.
“I think going into the season, there was a lot of uncertainties there, a lot of unknowns,” Ohio State co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day said. “Obviously, we saw talent but weren’t sure. This was a sophomore who really hadn’t played much football at all. And I think now he’s battle-tested, he’s been through it, he’s got some experience under his belt. He’s been hit in the mouth.”
As is often the case, there is more at stake to the 115th edition of The Game than bragging rights.
The Wolverines are No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings and likely will make their first appearance in the four-team bracket if they beat Ohio State and top Northwestern next weekend in the Big Ten championship game.
“It’s our whole season,” Michigan defensive tackle Carlos Kemp said. “It’s what we wanted, though, for it to be us versus Ohio State in a game to go to the Big Ten championship and keep our playoff hopes alive.”
A win also would complete an undefeated Big Ten slate for Michigan for the first time since 1997, its most recent national championship season.
Ohio State comes in more vulnerable than its record shows, having played spotty defense for much of the season. Beating the Wolverines and playing for a conference championship would be a notable achievement this season, which started with coach Urban Meyer suspended for three games for mishandling repeated professional and behavioral problems of an assistant coach who was eventually fired.
But motivation is ample on both sides. Michigan is making the final stop on what defensive end Chase Winovich has called a revenge tour. The Wolverines have beaten three of the four teams they lost to in the 2017 regular season — in consecutive games, they topped Wisconsin 38-13 on Oct. 13, Michigan State 21-7 on Oct. 20 and Penn State 42-7 on Nov. 3 — leaving Ohio State as the last one.
They opened this year with a 24-17 loss to Notre Dame but have rolled on since then, and with the Fighting Irish undefeated going into their regular-season finale today at Southern California, a possible postseason rematch could extend the tour.
Michigan players have been increasingly confident publicly, with running back Karan Higdon guaranteeing a win over Ohio State.
Wolverines linebacker Devin Bush, wearing a revenge tour hat, said a win against the Buckeyes would mean everything.
“We haven’t beaten them in a while,” Bush said. “That’s something we want to do, and that’s something we’re going to do.”